Google is opening up Maps so game developers can create the next Pokémon Go

There’s been a wave of location-based mobile games announced recently, based on everything from The Walking Dead to Jurassic World. It turns out these games have more in common than just timing: they’re all powered by Google Maps. Today Google is announcing that it’s opening up its ubiquitous mapping platform to allow game developers to more easily create real-world games. The next Pokémon Go might finally be on the way.

Google says that its new Maps platform for games is divided into three main parts. First, and most obvious, is that developers who sign up will have access to real-time Google Maps data. As part of this, Google is also launching a new software development kit for Unity, one of the most popular game engines in the world,…